How to reduce & fix lag in Kodi

How to fix lag in Kodi

Before we talk about fixing lag in Kodi, we need to know what your definition of lag is. Are you suffering from a slow device, where menus take a while to load and the whole Kodi process is slow? Or are you having internet lag, where your files are constantly buffering and your having some connectivity problems. If you’re having internet problems, you can check out our ‘How to stop buffering‘ guide.

If you’re having problems with your device being slower than usual, the tips below should help.

Before we start

PwrDown highly recommends you use a VPN when using Kodi. IPVanish is one of the only top tier VPNs and it’s tailored specifically for Kodi users. It works on almost all devices including the Amazon Fire Stick. As stated on their site, using IPVanish will:

Upgrade your device

The main cause for having a slow Kodi device that’s suffering from lag is simply because the hardware is bad. If you’re using an Amazon Fire Stick for example, you’re going to have a lot of issues. Whilst they are everyone’s go-to device, they are ridiculously slow and seem to often overheat.

I’ve had much more success using a Raspberry Pi and LibreELEC. The Raspberry Pi 3 seems to run much faster with Kodi, however you are sacrificing other apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video. Installing LibreELEC will instantly boot to Kodi upon turning the device on.

Clear your cache

You can try force stopping the application and clearing the cache. If you’re on an Android device, you can do this by heading into Settings > Apps > Kodi > Clear cache. However, with most users having a Fire Stick, follow the steps below

Go to the Fire Stick Home screen by pressing the Home button on your remote

Go to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications

Choose Kodi > Force Stop (if available) > Clear Cache

Run Kodi

Removing Kodi Add-ons to fix lag

If you have a lot of Kodi add-ons installed, it’s going to be using up a lot of your devices resources. Add-ons have to automatically update and do their own thing in the background which can cause a lot of problems. The best thing to do is uninstal any that you are not using. We’ve created a guide that will show you how to uninstall any unwanted add-ons and reduce lag problems.

Original founder of PwrDown. I’m a huge Movie and TV enthusiast, with a lot of interest in the Kodi platform. I’m also an avid gamer, enjoying games such as Fallout 4, League of Legends and other immersive simulation games such as Euro Truck Simulator and Cities Skylines!